Over the years I have been identified with many labels. One of them is that I have the characteristic of a patriot. A patriot is a rigorous supporter of the values of his country. I think I am. I believe in dual citizenship. My citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20), and my citizenship is here on earth (Philippians 1:27).
“27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;” – Philippians 1:27 KJV
The word for “conversation” is “politeuomai” where we get our word “politics.” It means to be a citizen and a participant in civil affairs. Simply read Acts 26-29 and you will discover how the Apostle Paul lived and exercised his rights as a citizen of Rome.
I not only espouse and teach from the Scriptures individual righteousness, but also cultural righteousness. (Righteousness is doing moral and good actions over and over again).
Individual righteousness
“I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban.” – Job 29:14 NIV
Cultural righteousness
“9 Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of all Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness.” – 1 Kings 10:9 NIV
As a citizen of this great country, I support the values that America was founded on. Those values are: The Freedom of Speech, the Freedom of Religion, and the Pursuit of Happiness. I believe America was conceived in freedom in 1776.
The 1619 Project
In 4,500 schools across America our children are taught contempt for America because leftists believe it was conceived in racism. It’s called the 1619 project. All cults and all totalitarian regimes seek to control the education of children. The 1619 project is rooted in neo-Marxism, which pits the oppressed against the oppressor. This pitting of one group against another is expanded to include: black and brown people against white people. Lesbians and homosexuals against heterosexuals. Transgender people against people who are biologically male or female.
The Preservation of American Values
In Deuteronomy 31 verses 11 and 12, I find two very informative passages:
“When all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God in the place that He will choose, you shall read this teaching aloud in the presence of all Israel. 12 gather the people—men, women, children, and the strangers in your communities —that they may hear and so learn to revere the Lord your God and to observe faithfully every word of this teaching.” – Deuteronomy 31:11-12
To this day, a Jew who regularly attends the Sabbath services will never go longer than three days without hearing verses from the Torah. If, throughout their history, Americans had heard sections of the U.S. Constitution read aloud each week, this practice would have greatly helped preserve the American people as one people with shared values. God’s great lesson from Deuteronomy— teach regularly the nation’s founding texts to every generation or you will cease to be a nation!
When nations forget their past, they cease to exist!
Deuteronomy 4:9 says, “But take utmost care and watch yourselves scrupulously, so that you do not forget the things that you saw with your own eyes and so that they do not fade from your mind as long as you live. And make them known to your children and to your children’s children.”
This is among the most important and relevant commandments in the Book of the Covenants (OT): “don’t forget… make them [the events you saw] known to your children and to your children’s children.”
If there is one overriding reason Jews have survived for more than 3,000 years—the great majority of those years spent exiled from their national homeland — it’s that they have preserved their national memories. I think it is rather profound that Jewish children at the celebration of the Seder, recite the events of the exodus as if it happened to them. In the Passover liturgy, Jews say, “WE were slaves in Egypt,” not, “THEY were slaves in Egypt.”
It is the job of parents, teachers, pastors, every day Christ followers, as well as society at large, to connect each generation with the nation’s past. A nation ceases to exist if it loses its memory. This is happening to many Western countries at this time, without their people even going into exile as the Jews did.
Affluence Can Foster Forgetfulness
When people become affluent, many regard God as no longer necessary.
Forgetting God’s prosperity is not simply a personal forgetfulness, but it also applies to the fate of an entire nation. It could be the experience of a community and possibly even of an era. Even as I write this, I’m soberly aware that we could be living in such an era.
I find the following passages of Scripture very intriguing:
“10 When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. 11 “But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the LORD your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today.” – Deuteronomy 8:10-11 NLT
One of the reasons God gave us his commands, regulations, and decrees, is to remind us, along with future generations, that the purpose of His Laws are not only to liberate Israelites from slavery, but to give provide vital, life-giving instructions.
There are two forms of bondage: to an external master or to internal masters. The Exodus liberated the Israelites and us from the first; the law and the prophets liberated us from the second.
Many people living in free societies are nevertheless enslaved—to internal masters such as drugs, greed, lust, envy, abuse of grace, misapplied love, and an inaccurate definition of faith. As Viktor Frankl, a psychologist, philosopher, and author of one of the most important books of the 20th century, Man’s Search for Meaning, wrote: “I recommend that the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast be supplemented by the Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast.”
The Exodus represents the Statue of Liberty;
Sinai represents the Statue of Responsibility!
As I close, I’m reminded of that powerful truth in the book of 1 Peter:
“For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.” – 1 Peter 2:16 NLT
Under the banner of “cultural righteousness” I consider myself a patriot. I think patriotism is the glue to keep America great! Therefore, my mission and I hope yours as well, is to foster love for America, if we want to keep her America.
Righteous Actions to Take:
- Celebrate national holidays with others.
- Talk about and educate others about the correct founding of America.
- In the midst of your affluence, consistently remember the freedom that you have in Christ and as a nation.
- Keep the Statue of Responsibility in your heart mind spirit and actions!
Practicing Righteousness with you.
In Christ,
Dale